Method of preparing textile yarn, and resulting products



Patented Jan. 14, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE norm n. nurse, or rams, rmcr:

No Drawing.

' The invention relates to method of preparing textile yarn and resulting products, and more particularly to an improved method of producing the kind of yarn set forth in my United States Letters Patent No. 1,295,821, granted February 25, 1919, for textile yarnand method of making the same and the resulting products. The yarn referred to is one from which the twist of the fibres has been partially or wholly removed by gumming and untwisting.

The general character of the yarn and fabric to which the invention relates and the advantages of the untwisted yarn and resulting fabric, are fully set forth in my said'Letters Patent and neednot be repeated here.

.The object of this invention is to improve the quality of the untwisted yarn and fabrics woven or knitted therefrom, by improving the uniformity of the yarn structur'e-i. e., twist or detwist, and/or its tensile strengths The invention consists in the novel method of preparing thejyarn which is hereinafter set forth according to the preferred manner of practicing the same, and in the resulting improved yarn and fabrics. The invention will be more 'particularlypointed out in the appended clalms.

As pointed out in my aforesaid patent specification, heretofore I have roduced ed untwisted yarn in the ollowing manner I tookthe yarn after it had been spun in the usual manner, from sliver, roving, etc., and wound upon suitable bobbins or cops, and having the necessary twist for being 'so handled and for permitting it to be gummed, and I then gummed it nany 40 suitable manner, as for example by passing it over gumming rolls or through asuitable basin containing the adhesive, and had been gummed, I brushed it, if desired,

as it left the rolls or basin, and then dried it as it left the brushes, if used, so that the gum would bind the fibres together. I then took out a substantial amount or substantially all of the twist, asmay be desired in the particular case, depending upon the gain wholly Orin-part, to hold the fibres together to the inch, and

after it resulting yarn may Applicationflled September 30, 1924. Serial No. 740,841.

so as to give the yarn its necessary strengthv for use in forming fabrics of'the interlaced stran type. The twist wastaken out in any w y desired as by placing the cop in a twisting frame and rotating it in a dlrection to untwist the yarn. It was further pointed out in said specification that instead of taking the spun yarn that had already been copped, and gumming, untwisting and re-copping it, the yarn could-be gmnmed during the spinning operation, i. e., after the twist has been put in it by the spinningof the yarn, and then after drying it could be wound upon the cop or pirn; after which the twist could be taken out as described.

I have found in practice in producingv such yarn, that some of the fibres or, groups of fibres are caused to separate from other fibres or groupsof fibres due to the detwisting operation, the dried gum being somewhat ruptured along the length of the am .by the detwisting, permitting some 0 the fibres to, thus somewhat separate, in the same general manner as roughly illustrated by the loosening, bulging or separating of fibres'or' groups of fibres in the untwisting of a string or rope when one takes hold of the same and holds it at one point while turning it at another point in a direction to take 'out'the twist. This somewhat separation of fibres or groups of fibres one from another tends to reduce the tensile strength of the gummed untwisted yarn from what it wouldbe if the fibres in their untwisted condition could be held and cemented together in close contact-one with another. F

I have also found that the detwisting does not occur uniformly along the length of the yarn. For example, if a yarn has 17 twists after it is gummed and: dried, it is twisted in the reverse direction, say 12 times to leave only 5 twists per inch; it may be that due to heavier gumming at some portions, or other factors causing the fibres of the yarn to be bound together more firmly .at one portion than at another, the actually have a few for a short length,

twists in one direction and no twist or even a reverse tw st in another adjacent shortlength. ThlS is not objectionable in some fabrics, but it is objectionable in other fabrics such for example as where a smooth soft uniform surface having a high sheen is desirable. Fabrics woven from the inproved yarn have the gum sticky or tacky enough to cause the fibres to be held down in this position or to be brought back into this position and cemented there, as the case may be. This may be accomplished by detwisting the gummed yarn while the gum is yet wet or tacky. But this method of procedure is rather undesirable or troublesome due to difficulties in carrying out the same, among which I might mention slow operation,

added expense, and the fact that I have found that when the detwisting is carried out with the gum in a condition tacky to the touch, the yarn collects lint in the traveler through which it passes in the detwisting operation. It is therefore perhaps in many cases preferably in accomplishing the desired end, to detwist the yarn with the gum dry and thereafter wet or moisten the gummed yarn to make the gum sufficiently sticky or tacky tocause the untwisted fibres to be drawn or flattened down in close contact, in which position they are recemented by the tacky gum.

It might be attempted to allow ,the gum to sufficiently dry before the detwisting so that it is not tacky to the touch or contact and thus avoid the traveler difficulties above mentioned in detwisting the yarn while the gum is tacky to this extent, and yet not allow the drying to progress to a point where the gum will be sufficiently dry to cause it to crack and allowthe fibres to separate during the detwisting; but while this may be successfully accomplished under certain conditions where the entire process can be carefully watched and the detwisting carried on at exactly the desired stage of dryness of the gum, yet in general practiceit is troublesome, uneconomical and inadvisable to try and handle the matter in this way because if the yarn should be detwisted with the gum too wet the foregoing difliculties will be encountered, and if it should .have dried too much the resulting lack of tensile strength might not be noted until the yarn had been shipped and was put to use .in weaving where it would be too late to rectify the trouble without serious cost.

Furthermore, it may well be that in the actual use of the yarns the yarn may be gummed at one time or at oneplace and then detwisted at a much later date, or evenat an entirely different place and under such circumstances it may be impossible to carry on the detwisting before the gum became too dry. Therefore, in order to insure the desired tensile strength without incurring the difiiculties above mentioned it is important to moisten the gum as aboye stated, after the detwisting has taken place, so as to insure recementing of the fibres.

The detwisted gummed yarn may be moistenedor wetted while on the bobbins, such for example by steaming the bobbins or by sprinkling the bobbins or by soaking them in cold water, or by soaking and steaming, in each case allowing the gum to dry before use; or the gummed untwist-ed yarn may be suitably wetted or moistened while it is being run from bobbin to bobbin, etc.

The wetting or moistening of the gum may be carried out in any manner so long as'the gum is made sufiiciently sticky or tacky to insure the recementing of the somewhat separated fibres or groups of fibres, and preferably to insure the flattening down of the fibres or groups of fibres in close contact one with another and the recementing of the fibres in this flattened down close contact position. Onthe other hand, if the wetting is to be done while the yarn is running from bobbin to bobbin or in any other manner than while the yarn is at rest on a bobbin, the wetting should not be carried to such an extent that the gum will become so soft as to .let the fibres pull apart while the yarn is siderable extent without danger of hurting the yarn, because there is little or no strain on the yarn as may be the case in running 1t from bobbin to bobbin, but of course the gum should be allowed to dry toproper consistency before the yarn is used 1n a manner requiring substantial tensile strength, such as for weaving, etc.

I have found that the yarn when thus produced, prepared or treated,-1. e., having the gum moist or tacky at the t me of or subsequent to the detwisting, has its tensile strength considerably improved.

But to insure uniformity in the degree of twist or detwist along the yarn as hereinabove pointed out, it is also desirable to subject the detwisted gummed yarn to a certain degree of tension while thegum is in the moist or tacky condition, because by doing this the adjacent unequally twisted sections of the yarn are permitted to, and are assisted in, their natural tendency to equalize their twist, so as to make the twist substantially uniform along the length of the yarn.

Since the gum'on the yarnis in a tacky conadvantages of putting the yarn under tension for this purpose might be explained by the following rough or general analogy: For example, if one takes two or three yarns or threads and twists them together say for twenty turns for a 6 inch length, and then grips the yarn at the end of this 6 inch length'to prevent any interference with the twisted 6 inches, and then twists the adja cent 6 inches for say five turns, and then grips the end of this 6 inches having 5 twists, and puts a reverse twist in the next adjacent 6 inches, and allows the resulting 18 inches of yarn to be slack, there may be 5 some neutralization in the twist along the three adjacent sections of 6 inches each, but

the neutralization of the twists will not be nearly so complete as if the 18 inches of yarn is drawn out taut. The tensioning of 20 the yarn will assist the natural tendency of these sections to neutralize their respective twists so as to bring the twist throughout the 18 inches substantially uniform or much more uniform. This is a mere rough analfogy of what takes lace. Also, by tension- .ing the yarn when t e gum is moist or sufiiciently tacky, A the fibres of the yarn are brought together or caused to lay upon each other with closer'contact for a firmer or closer binding together by the moist yarn.

, The result is therefore a stronger more uniform yarn, and fabrics woven from such yarn are of better, more uniform texture, with a smoother surface giving a more pleas- .35 in softer appearance and better sheen in fa rics having this characteristic.

The operation may be'carried out in various ways and by various kinds ratus, but I have found the following 40 method of handling the gummed detwisted yarn, to put it under tension while the m.

is moist or tacky, to give good results1. e., the bobbins are mounted so as to have the yarn drawn therefrom, and the strands 5 of yarn are then drawn off of the bobbins, passed through a suitable moisten- J lIlg in water, from which roller the yarn is passed through a drying zone to partially dry out the yarn, but not beyond the tacky stage, sile strength of the yarn so that it may be put under the desired tension,,and from this drying zone the yarnis run between a set of rollers and thence to another set of rollers, the peripheral velocity of the second pair of.rollers being slightly in excess of that of the first pair, so asto put theyarn under the desired tensile stress, and from I 6 this second set of rollers the yarn may again The drying of thebe wound upon bobbins.

yarn as it passes through what I have termed the heated zone, may be accom-..

plished, for example, by winding the yarn back and forth between two revolving rollgummin of appa-' for the purpose of increasing the teners, as is well understood in the art, so that.

as the yarn passes along from the wetting roll it goes back and forth over these two rolls in the drying zone before it goes to the tensioning rolls, and beneath the rolls bebe arranged such as a known in the art for other uses, the yarn be first well wetted to insure the'dey sired degree of thorough softening of the gum throughout, and then the excess moisttween which the yarn is wound a suitablef Bythis arrangement,

ure will be taken out by the drying, so as to increase the tensile strength of the gummed yarn sufliciently for it to stand the tensioning operation. I merely mention this apparatus as one means of producing.

the desired arn.

In the oregoing description and the claims I make use of the terms gum and nience, and I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to a gum in .the strict sense of the word as distingushed from any other forms of suitable adhesive, but wish to be understood as including the use 'of any suitable form of adhesive, the L important thing being that a suitable. adhesive is present in the yarn when the same is untwisted, so as to bind the fibres to ether. Any suitable adhesive may be use that can be readmerely forlbrevity and conveily dissolved from the fabric, such for example as glue, fish glue, gelatin, starch. gum arabic, rosin, solvent rubber, etc., admlxed or not with suitable additional matters. Of

' these gumming agents perhapsstarch is the most generally used and best known adhesive in the textile industry, and since it is g inexpensive and its characteristics and working properties are well known in the trade it is perhaps the most satisfactory adhesive agent to be used .for gumming yarn. The solvent will be chosen in accordance'with the character of the adhesive, as will be un=. 'derstood in the art. device, such as over. a roller running The followin composition of adhesives have been foun suitable in practice:

(a) 1 kg. joiners glue dissolved in 10 liters of water, and

p (b) :25 grams of gum arabic and 91 grams of starch dissolved in 5 liters of water.

As pointed out in my above-mentioned e yarn) 1 one on or withthe other,

the adhesive has been dissolved from the I yarn or threads.

Where in the specification or claims I use the word untwisted or untwisting or detwisted or detwisting referring to the yarn, I. use it in ordinary meaning,

namely,.as referring. to yarn having a partially or wholly removedprevious twist, and

that condition. Also, where I refer to increasing the tensile strength, or to a yarn of increased tensile strength, it will be understood that I have reference to a comparison of the yarn made or prepared according to this invention with a yarn of the same size and character as heretofore made by me under my said patent, i. e., a yarn made of the same kind and length of fibre and of the same size.

This application is in the nature of a con-' tinuation in part of my co-pending application Serial Number'674,257, for method of preparing textile yarn, filed November 12, 1923.

While I have described my invention in detail according to the preferred manner of carrying out the same, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, after understanding my invention, that changes and modification tions may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited other than as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby 'Let- ,ters Patent, is:

1. Method of improving the tensile strength of a gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises applying gum to the yarn, and having the gum on the untwisted yarn sufliciently tacky, to insure closer contact and cementing together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise be more separated.

2. Method of improving the tensile strength of a gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises moistening the gum on the yarn, after the yarn has been detwisted; so as to recement together the fibres somewhat separated by detwisting the yarn.

3. Method of producing gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises gumming atwisted yarn, allowing the gumto dry to apoint where it is not sticky, then detwisting the yarn and then moistening the gum on the yarn to render it sufliciently sticky to flatten down the fibres and recenient them in closer contact.

4. A step in the method of improving the quality of gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises placing the gummed untwisted yarn under tension while the gum is moist or tacky. I

5. Method of improving the uality of gummed untwisted textile yarn, w ichcomprises placing the gummed untwisted yarn under tension while the gum is moist or tacky and then drying the yarn sufiiciently to reset the shattered gum and thereby strengthening the yarn.

6. Method. of improving I the tensile strength of gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises moistening the gum on the yarn after the yarn has been detwisted, placing it under tension while moist or tacky' and drying the yarn so as to improve the uniformity of twist along the yarn and recement together the fibres somewhat separated by the detwisting.

7. Method of improving the qualityof gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises. well wetting the gum on the yarn to suitably soften the same, then partly drying the gum on the yarn but not beyond the tacky state, to somewhat increase its tensile strength, and placin the yarn under tension while the gum is in tie partly dried or tacky condition.

8. As a product of manufacture, a gummed untwisted fibrous textile yarn of the character used in the manufacture of textile fabrics of the interlaced strand type, formed by having the gum on the yarn sufiiciently moist when in the detwisted state, to insure closer contact and cementing together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise be more separated.

9. As a product of manufacture, a

gummed untwisted fibrous textile yarn of the character used in the manufacture of textile fabrics of the interlaced strand type, formed by having the gum on the yarn sufficiently moist when in the detwisted state and tensionedto insure greater uniformity of detwist, and closer contact and cementing together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise be more separated.

10. Method of improving the tensile strength of 'a gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises applying gum to the yarn, and having the gum on the untwisted. yarn sufficiently tacky while the latter is held under tension to insure greater uniformity of detwist, and closer contact and cementing together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise be more separated.

11. A textile fabric havin in at least one direction textile yarn forme by having gum onthe yarn sufiiciently moist when in the detwisted state and tensioned to insure greater uniformity of detwist, and closer contact and cementin together of the fibres which due to the untwistin'g would otherwise be more separated. y

12. A textile fabric having in at least one direction textile yarn formed by having gum on the. yarn sufliciently moist when in the detwisted state to insure greater uniformity of detwist, and closer contact and cementing-together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise'be more separated.

13.- Asa product of manufacture, untwisted fibrous'textile yarn of the character used in. the manufacture of textile fabrics of the interlaced strand type, formed by having gum on the yarn which was sufiiciently moist when in and tensioned to insure greater uniformity of detwist, and closer contact and cementing together of the fibres which due to the untwisting would otherwise be more separated.

14. Method of producing gummed untwisted textile yarn, which comprises gumming a twisted yarn, allowing the gumto dry, then detwisting the yarn, then moistening the gum on the yarn to suitably soften the same and while the gum is soft placing the yarn under tension, and finally drying the gummed yarn before use.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

' AUBREY E. MEYER.-

the detwisted state 

